Chili Mix

[PlayadelSoul]

Just what exactly comes in those little packs you use to make chili (McCormacks et al.)? I have lived in Mexico for 6 years now, and really want a bowl of chili. Silly me, I thought it was Mexican food. This is serious. Can someone just let me know the main spices?

[Donna]

I have a 2-alarm chili kit in my pantry.In the package there is salt,cayenne pepper,chili pepper dried onion, dried garlic,cumin,oregano and some masa to add at the very end to make it thick.

[PlayadelSoul]

Thanks. I think a couple of those are going to be tough to find. Might just have to wait until December when my mules..uhh, I mean my parents, come.

[Susie Q Roo]

Chili's not real tough - all you really need is chili powder and cumin and I think you can get both of those at Chedraui. Mix it up with your meat and tomatoes and sauteed garlic and onions - salt, pepper and maybe a few other seasonings (you like peppers?) to taste and you're good to go.

[SunKneeMarie]

Originally Posted by Susie Q Roo

Chili's not real tough - all you really need is chili powder and cumin and I think you can get both of those at Chedraui. Mix it up with your meat and tomatoes and sauteed garlic and onions - salt, pepper and maybe a few other seasonings (you like peppers?) to taste and you're good to go.

Sounds pretty much like the one I make. More chili powder than cumin. I think for a pound of meat I use 3T chili and 2t cumin. Something like that.

[KevKaos]

Chili MIX???!!!??? Are you kidding me? Man, people give me grief for adding beans. Drop me a PM if you want and I'll send you a chili receipe that I use and have changed numerous times to get it the way I like it. This chili has beans but they can be left out. Also has a tiny bit of tequila. When you eat it, it starts off slightly sweet and then heats the inside of your mouth. I make mine very mild, but it can easily be spiked up.

Oh yeah, and there is a secret part to this receipe. I use a cast iron stew pot. You can make it in a regular pot, or even a slow cooker, but a well seasoned cast iron pot really adds something.

[PlayadelSoul]

Originally Posted by KevKaos

Chili MIX???!!!??? Are you kidding me? Man, people give me grief for adding beans. Drop me a PM if you want and I'll send you a chili receipe that I use and have changed numerous times to get it the way I like it. This chili has beans but they can be left out. Also has a tiny bit of tequila. When you eat it, it starts off slightly sweet and then heats the inside of your mouth. I make mine very mild, but it can easily be spiked up.

Oh yeah, and there is a secret part to this receipe. I use a cast iron stew pot. You can make it in a regular pot, or even a slow cooker, but a well seasoned cast iron pot really adds something.

My cooking skills are such that I need all of the help I can get. Whether it is a can of Manwich (which I miss) or a pack of chili mix to serve as a base (I add other things, as well), it serves to better the odds that I won't screw it up.

Thanks all. I will check Chedruai.

[jscarbor]

Actually chili is mexican food. Chile con carne is what it is called in mexico. I have made a very complex venison version that was great. It had ancho chili powder, whole chilis, cumin, onion, garlic...I think I got it on epicurious.com.

[b3guy]

I have been using this stuff for 3 years and it is great... All you have to add is beef , onions, tomato paste/sauce and black beans. Easy, quick and good.

http://www.originaljuan.com/product.asp?ProdID=39


Jim

[Heather]

Originally Posted by PlayadelSoul

My cooking skills are such that I need all of the help I can get. Whether it is a can of Manwich (which I miss) or a pack of chili mix to serve as a base (I add other things, as well), it serves to better the odds that I won't screw it up.

Thanks all. I will check Chedruai.

I make a mean sloppy joe, Playa del Soul, without Manwich. I can show you, it's easy.

[Babaloo]

Secret Ingredient
Don't tell anyone
Toss in a stick of cinnamon
Not cinnamon powder. A stick.
Remove stick after simmering for a while.
If you can't find a cinnamon stick...try a few cloves of nutmeg.
Trust me.

[denisea]

Originally Posted by Babaloo

Secret Ingredient
Don't tell anyone
Toss in a stick of cinnamon
Not cinnamon powder. A stick.
Remove stick after simmering for a while.
If you can't find a cinnamon stick...try a few cloves of nutmeg.
Trust me.

Another secret ingredient... 1-2 squares of baker's unsweetened chocolate.

If this sounds weird... the combination is really quite mexican. Both the Mayans and Aztecs used to drink a hot chocolate mixture that contained chili, and mole sauce is a chocolate sauce which also contains chili.

[KevKaos]

Originally Posted by Babaloo

Secret Ingredient
Don't tell anyone
Toss in a stick of cinnamon
Not cinnamon powder. A stick.
Remove stick after simmering for a while.
If you can't find a cinnamon stick...try a few cloves of nutmeg.
Trust me.

That's one of the things I do as well. Really adds a new dimension to your chili doesn't it? I also use some brown sugar and unsweetened chocolate as well. The brown sugar is where the sweet start comes from. One of the things I heard about and have been trying is putting my dry spices in my pot first and applying the heat for a short time before adding the meat. Adding the spices together under heat seems to blend them more. I am a novice cook at best, and what I do is try a receipe, and then by reading others, see what I can incorporate into mine. So far is has worked pretty good. Unfortunately, I have been having some medical issues lately that will probably stop me from making my spicier foods. Anyway, if anyone wants my receipe, the offer still stands. PM me.

[Babaloo]

Originally Posted by KevKaos

That's one of the things I do as well. Really adds a new dimension to your chili doesn't it?

Yeah...
...it adds a dimension that no one can quite figure out. People don't associate cinnamon/nutmeg with chili, so they are a bit dumbfounded trying to figure out just what that "hint of something" really is.

Never tried the chocolate thing. I just may have to.

Chili is very territorial. Just like BBQ.

I had Chili in Cincinatti once. They call that chili??

[KevKaos]

Originally Posted by Babaloo

Yeah...
...it adds a dimension that no one can quite figure out. People don't associate cinnamon/nutmeg with chili, so they are a bit dumbfounded trying to figure out just what that "hint of something" really is.

Never tried the chocolate thing. I just may have to.

Chili is very territorial. Just like BBQ.

I had Chili in Cincinatti once. They call that chili??

Just remember, unsweetened bakers chocolate. It's is usually such a small amount, you can barely taste it, but you kinda know it's there. Does that make any sense? I saw a show on the Food Network once where they were tracing the origins of Chili. Seems it started in Texas, but most assuredly by the Mexican cooks that were in the area cooking for the cattle drivers. I can't remember all the details, but it was full of all kinds of useful info that I have worked at putting into my chili. My chili is thick, where alot of Texas chilis have a thinner broth type of consistency to them. The Texan, as I understand it, don't normally approve of beans of any sort in chili, but I load upall kids of things in mine. Brown sugar, cinnamon stick, safron, onion, green peppers, garlic, red beans, black beans, pinto beans, sirloin steak and ground beef (somewhat lean), a splash of Tequila and of course being from Maryland, I have to use McCormicks chili powder. My idea of chili is "a little bit of everything". The trick is getting it so that all the taste are there, but none stands out more than the others.